"Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path." (Psalm 119:105)
I have been reading Psalm 119 for the last couple of days. It is the longest chapter of the entire Bible - containing 176 verses. According to this commentary, the entire psalm "is divided into twenty-two parts or stanzas, denoted by the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet (Aleph, Beth, Gimel, Daleth... like A, B, C, D, etc). Each stanza contains eight verses, and the first letter of each verse is that which gives name to the stanza. Its contents are mainly praises of God's Word, exhortations to its perusal, and reverence for it, prayers for its proper influence, and complaints of the wicked for despising it." It's amazing that every verse (except verses 122 and 132) contains some references to God's Word - here are some examples taken from the first 8 verses:
1 Blessed are those whose ways are blameless,
who walk according to the law of the Lord.
2 Blessed are those who keep his statutes
and seek him with all their heart—
3 they do no wrong
but follow his ways.
4 You have laid down precepts
that are to be fully obeyed.
5 Oh, that my ways were steadfast
in obeying your decrees!
6 Then I would not be put to shame
when I consider all your commands.
7 I will praise you with an upright heart
as I learn your righteous laws.
8 I will obey your decrees;
do not utterly forsake me.
So just within these 8 verses, God's Word is described as "the law of the Lord", "his statutes", "his ways", "precepts", "decrees", "commands", and "righteous laws". We are promised that blessings and benefits will follow if we are "walking according to it", "seeking and keeping it", "following it", "fully obeying it", "considering it", and "learning and praising it". I don't know about you - that's enough for a life time! But my experience has taught me that it's about the daily discipline of reading His Word, studying in more depth from time to time, memorizing some of it, and sharing my discovery with others whenever there is opportunity for it. It has become my "Daily Bread", my "devotion", my "Offering", my "love" (expressed in obedience) to my Saviour. God will use this to strengthen my faith. It's the sure way to get to know Him more. I might as well get used to it as that's how I will be spending my eternity doing it!
Verse 105 (the title of this blog) is perhaps the most famous verse in this Psalm. It compares the Word of God to a lamp which gives off light to illuminate the path we travel on. My wife and I love to do our evening walks around our neighborhood. It's a 4.5km loop through many of our favorites landmarks and scenery. As the day is getting shorter (already - it's only the end of August!) we always carry a flashlight. It serves the purpose of not only avoiding dangers on the path but also to alert cars when we cross the road. It gives us time to share what we learn from God's Word and how it relates to the events of the day. Our faith grows together. Thank God for His Word!
Friday 26 August 2016
Friday 19 August 2016
Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord
I am by training an engineer and a medical doctor. I think in concrete terms. Philosophy is definitely not my strong suit. I am also more of an action oriented person, even as it relates to living out my faith. Contemplative discipline is very foreign to me. I rarely spend enough time on meditation and my prayers tend to focus on needs rather than worship. I am discovering that other dimension as I now have more time in my retirement to read and to pray.
I recently finished reading "The Seven Storey Mountain" by Thomas Merton. This book has a very strong effect on me. First, the story of Merton's conversion was very encouraging. He also introduced the contemplative and mystical dimension of a believer's journey with such fascination. It is helpful to know what it's like to practice this discipline. I too long for a deeper relationship with God. Lastly his love for the saints (Augustine, St John of the Cross etc.) and the practices of the Roman Catholic Church stimulated me to want to learn more. I went to the library and pulled out a bunch of books on Merton and Augustine, or anything else related to them:
I also watched a couple of DVD's on Merton's life:
I have come to know this person more. He really opened my eyes to the contemplative and mystical dimension of my faith, which had remained unexplored to this day. He also prompted me to think more deeply concerning peace and civil action in areas like pro-life and race relation. My next book is Saint Augustine's Confessions. It's a much easier book to read than the City of God. Looking forward to it.
The brilliance of Thomas Merton both as an author and an activist is in some way an illustration of what St Paul was saying in 1 Corinthians chapters 1 and 2. Here Paul was dealing with a young church with it's share of growing pain. Paul, who most scholars would agree, was a brilliant man. Here he argued that:
"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”[Isaiah 29:24] Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength." (1 Corinthians 1:18-25)
"For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power." (1 Corinthians 2:2-5)
"What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words." (1 Corinthians 2:12-13)
Many attempted to explain why "The Seven Storey Mountain" became an instant best seller. They pointed out the moral vacuum after the second world war and the widespread search for deeper meaning in life. Yet the book is still to this day a relevant book and it has helped a person like me to discover God in a deeper way. It challenged me again to think and act differently from the "wisdom of this world" and these are three lessons for today:
Oh that the Name of Jesus be lifted up! If I should gain anything while living in this world - may His Name be praised!
I recently finished reading "The Seven Storey Mountain" by Thomas Merton. This book has a very strong effect on me. First, the story of Merton's conversion was very encouraging. He also introduced the contemplative and mystical dimension of a believer's journey with such fascination. It is helpful to know what it's like to practice this discipline. I too long for a deeper relationship with God. Lastly his love for the saints (Augustine, St John of the Cross etc.) and the practices of the Roman Catholic Church stimulated me to want to learn more. I went to the library and pulled out a bunch of books on Merton and Augustine, or anything else related to them:
- Love Burning in the Soul by James Harpur
- A Year with Thomas Merton
- Peace in the Post Christian Era
- The City of God Introduction by Thomas Merton
I also watched a couple of DVD's on Merton's life:
I have come to know this person more. He really opened my eyes to the contemplative and mystical dimension of my faith, which had remained unexplored to this day. He also prompted me to think more deeply concerning peace and civil action in areas like pro-life and race relation. My next book is Saint Augustine's Confessions. It's a much easier book to read than the City of God. Looking forward to it.
The brilliance of Thomas Merton both as an author and an activist is in some way an illustration of what St Paul was saying in 1 Corinthians chapters 1 and 2. Here Paul was dealing with a young church with it's share of growing pain. Paul, who most scholars would agree, was a brilliant man. Here he argued that:
"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”[Isaiah 29:24] Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength." (1 Corinthians 1:18-25)
"For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power." (1 Corinthians 2:2-5)
"What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words." (1 Corinthians 2:12-13)
Many attempted to explain why "The Seven Storey Mountain" became an instant best seller. They pointed out the moral vacuum after the second world war and the widespread search for deeper meaning in life. Yet the book is still to this day a relevant book and it has helped a person like me to discover God in a deeper way. It challenged me again to think and act differently from the "wisdom of this world" and these are three lessons for today:
- My worth is found in Jesus and Him alone (not degrees and accomplishments)
- Doing less is sometimes doing more (spend more time with Him)
- A simple message (of the Cross) is active and powerful to someone ready to hear
Oh that the Name of Jesus be lifted up! If I should gain anything while living in this world - may His Name be praised!
Friday 12 August 2016
Enjoying God's presence in His House
Today's scripture reading is from Psalms 84-86 and Romans 12. Psalms 84 and 85 are written by the Sons of Korah. I had previously written about the Sons of Korah. It's hard to believe what treasure you find in these 11 Psalms that they wrote. I have decided to commit much of Psalm 84 to memory. It's quite easy as many of the verses have been made into music! Just listen to some of these familiar verses:
"How lovely is your dwelling place,
Lord Almighty!
My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God." (Psalm 84:1,2)
This is how I sometimes feel when I go to church. This is how I should feel as I look forward to my eternal home. The writer saw a sparrow making a nest near the altar and he responded: "Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you." (Psalm 84:4). Yes that's what we are made for. That's what eternity is like - praising God in His Holy Dwelling Place.
"Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
whose hearts are set on pilgrimage." (Psalm 84:5)
This life is but a pilgrimage. On this journey we discover many of God's handiwork and find the necessary strength to get to the final destination: "They go from strength to strength till each appears before God in Zion." (Psalm 84:7)
"Better is one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked." (Psalm 84:10)
Today I also learned who the "doorkeeper" was. I like this explanation the best: "The psalmist means that he would rather stand at the door of God's house and merely look in, than dwell in houses where iniquity prevailed." When we look into God's house what do we see? What an amazing perspective! Keith Green wrote a beautiful song about it "Oh, Lord You're Beautiful!"
The Psalm ends with this exhortation:
"For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
the Lord bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold
from those whose walk is blameless.
Lord Almighty,
blessed is the one who trusts in you." (Psalm 84:11-12)
To finish up I listened to this song one more time - still brought tears to my eyes:
Keith Green - There is a Redeemer
"How lovely is your dwelling place,
Lord Almighty!
My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God." (Psalm 84:1,2)
This is how I sometimes feel when I go to church. This is how I should feel as I look forward to my eternal home. The writer saw a sparrow making a nest near the altar and he responded: "Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you." (Psalm 84:4). Yes that's what we are made for. That's what eternity is like - praising God in His Holy Dwelling Place.
"Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
whose hearts are set on pilgrimage." (Psalm 84:5)
This life is but a pilgrimage. On this journey we discover many of God's handiwork and find the necessary strength to get to the final destination: "They go from strength to strength till each appears before God in Zion." (Psalm 84:7)
"Better is one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked." (Psalm 84:10)
Today I also learned who the "doorkeeper" was. I like this explanation the best: "The psalmist means that he would rather stand at the door of God's house and merely look in, than dwell in houses where iniquity prevailed." When we look into God's house what do we see? What an amazing perspective! Keith Green wrote a beautiful song about it "Oh, Lord You're Beautiful!"
The Psalm ends with this exhortation:
"For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
the Lord bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold
from those whose walk is blameless.
Lord Almighty,
blessed is the one who trusts in you." (Psalm 84:11-12)
To finish up I listened to this song one more time - still brought tears to my eyes:
Keith Green - There is a Redeemer
Saturday 6 August 2016
Gleaning from Romans 8
It's been now over two weeks since I last wrote. Traveling with no reliable Internet and set scheduled quiet time has always been difficult to sit down and look at scripture more carefully. That's not to say that I didn't have any good spiritual nourishment. My wife and I spent some quality time praying together and listened to quite a few great podcasts both during the long drive (to and from the cottage), and just while sharing a meal together with the podcast playing in the background. This is a great place for podcasts: http://www.catholic.com/radio/podcast
Today I listened to Romans 8 a couple of times (yes I like to read and listen at the same time). This is one of those chapters in scripture that had taught the church so much over the centuries. I have many favorite verses from this chapter which I quoted over and over again in reference to certain themes:
Today I listened to Romans 8 a couple of times (yes I like to read and listen at the same time). This is one of those chapters in scripture that had taught the church so much over the centuries. I have many favorite verses from this chapter which I quoted over and over again in reference to certain themes:
- On Eternal Security in Christ - "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1); "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31b); "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" (Romans 8:35a) and the answer is "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." (Romans 8:37); "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39)
- On becoming God's children, not slaves - "The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” " (Romans 8:15)
- On suffering with Christ and future glory - "Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. " (Romans 8:17-18)
- The Spirit helps us pray - "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans." (Romans 8:26)
- God's got our back - "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. " (Romans 8:28)
- God is sovereign and all knowing - "For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified." (Romans 8:29-30)
- This is my most quoted verse! The best evidence of God's grace (to encourage those who are in need of encouragement!) - "He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" (Romans 8:32); along with this verse from previous chapter - "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
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